Thanks Mr. M-500T.
I designed everything and had carpenters do the framing and drywall, and I paid for the carpet installation. I did all the other fun parts (wiring, install, calibration, etc.). Actually, I had done most of the framing myself until that unfortunate trip to the hospital... then I tore it up and had the carpenters start over.

The folks at TrueSoundControl.com gave me a free room evaluation and recommended the proper sound treatment - which my wife promptly ignored because she wanted the entire front wall covered in foam. It did kill the slight brightness characteristic of the Outlaw 990 on digital surround formats, so I guess it worked.

The Outlaw 990 is a heck of a bargain, in my opinion. Don't go cheap and get the 970, it is not worth it. I had a 970 for about 3 months and replaced it with the 990. Warning: the 990 is HUGE - I had to tear up the back of my equipment cabinet and modify the shelves to get that monster in there.

They even acknowledge this in the user's manual by warning that they faithfully reproduce some of the latest movie surround sound formats (DTS-ES, DD-EX, etc.) which are inherently bright. There is a "theatre compensation" menu in the 990's setup which helps. I opted to leave it off and did notice the brightness, but only on certain movies.